quick trick: library book parade

This Quick Trick is super quick, very simple, but it’s one of my children’s favorite parts of our library trips: the Library Book Parade.

No, it’s not a parade around the house.

It doesn’t involve loud drums, marching, or candy-throwing.

It’s actually quiet–or kind of quiet–and really–nice.

Here’s the skinny:

• Library Book Parade:  Rather than throw all of our books straight into the library book basket or drawer, when we come home from the library with bags overflowing with books, we put them on parade.

We drag them into the living room, dump them out on the floor, and one by one, I read the title and stand each book up on our tv stand and coffee table.

We leave them up for a day or two (or sometimes three) but then we take it down and the books make their way around the house–to the book basket, book drawer, and up in bedrooms.

We’ve done it ever since I can remember, though our houses have changed and our “parade location” has changed slightly over time.  But it’s now part of our library day routine, a part that my kids (and I) really enjoy.

Putting library books on parade works for us because:

• everyone gets to see all of the books for a few days;
• I read the titles and authors, so everyone, including my non-readers–Cora and Owen–get to hear what we’ve brought home;
• reading the authors’ names allows them to make connections with other books by the same author and gives them a book to ‘look for’ later on;
• spotlighting each book gives the kids a better sense of what types of books we have;
• when the books are all lined up in their ‘parade’, Maddy, Owen, and Cora are more inclined to grab one to look at or read;
• the books are beautiful–looking at them for a few days makes our living room seem like an altogether ‘new’ place, complete with new ‘artwork’;
• the parade extends our library trip–makes the whole experience more complete!

 

another library book parade . . .

 

And that’s it! Just a total quickie Quick Trick sharing one little way we celebrate books and reading over here, even with an everyday event like heading to the library!

Happy reading!